Pharmacy students feedback about objective structured practical examination (OSPE) after the pharmaceutical care course in Poland

An important part of the pharmaceutical study program is a thorough assessment of students’ skills. The new form of assessing skills in pharmacy teaching is the Objective Structured Practical Ex- amination (OSPE). The purpose of this study was the assessment from students on the preparation, organization, and conduct of the OSPE examination and analyze students’ suggestions to improve future OSPE exams’ quality and improve the Pharmaceutical Care course’s teaching method (PCc). The study was conducted at the Faculty of Pharmacy of the Jagiellonian University Medical College in the winter semesters in the academic years 2018-2019 and 2019-2020. The study was attended by students of the 5th-year of pharmacy who took the OSPE for the first time. After the exam, students filled in an anony- mous questionnaire about their general approach to the OSPE. They assessed each station and the self- assessment. The results were analyzed by performing statistical analyses and compared between years. A total of 183 5th -year pharmacy students participated in the study, including 108 students in the 2018- 2019 academic year and 75 students in the 2019-2020 academic year. Half of the students had a positive attitude towards OSPE, but the vast majority stated that the OSPE was stressful. Over 70% of students assessed that stations with simulated patients create real situations in pharmacy. Pharmacy students rated the OSPE exam as a reliable tool for assessing their skills.